See

by Quill of Filth

Salvation

The silver moonlight shone onto the skiff as it continued along.

Tempest was standing next to the helm, with nothing but the occasional whistle of the breeze and her thoughts.

Despite insisting on going by herself, it was strange flying a ship completely alone. Even in her days of evil, the occasional guard of the Storm King was on the deck and Grubber was by her side often, waiting for orders.

She would say that she missed Grubber, but if she was being honest, she didn't really know him all too well, and at that time didn't care to know him especially considering his antics. He did manage to amuse her on the rare occasion. But sometimes she wondered where he was after they parted ways.

Her mind wandered to her departure with Twilight, who she definitely missed.

Twilight saved her from her deathly fall, and instead of condemning her, forgave her, and offered her a chance of atonement. Beyond that, she became her first true friend, and stood by her side. And she vowed to never forget her deeds. And it was one of the motivators for going on this mission.

But she hoped she could see her again. It led her to ponder where they all were. Maybe in the jungle, caves, a sea temple? Wherever it was, Discord insisted it required all of them. At least she wasn't sent to find the artifact this time - but it wasn't exactly a silver lining.

Part of her wondered if she could truly face what was ahead of her now. Alone.

Her gaze traveled to the night sky, her eyes resting upon a luminous star.

Instead of a weight, a hidden light within her shimmered and burned in reflection.

Her brows furrowed in determination before her gaze fell.

She sauntered down the stairs and across the ship to the bow. Her eyes fell from the golden regalia and bowsprit with a sun insignia on it to the ground below, or lack thereof.

Instead, water was covering everything with various trees peaking above its surface. Her eyes traveled to the open water then to the horizon where she noticed in the distance was an enormous dark cumulonimbus.

Thunder boomed and echoed in the distance, like a harbinger of what was to come…

---

Stars had begun to fade, as dark clouds filled the space and rain sprinkled. Soon it picked up until it was at steady downpour, with visibility lowering.

Thunder cracked.

Then it became torrential, with the rain making everything a blur.

At the wheel, Tempest pulled back a lever, slowing the ship's speed to a halt. She sauntered back down the stairs, her hoofsteps making small splashes, before she went below the deck into the dark.

An audible dripping filled the air, accompanying the white noise of the rain above as her poncho and scarf were soaking wet, prompting her to take them off. She threw them to the ground next to the steps, leaving her bare and exposed.

Her eyes traveled to what usually would be a cage. Ambling to the large metal upside-down cup, she made sure the chain was attached to the top before she made her way over to a lever which she pulled, causing the floor below the metal cup to slowly open, revealing the dark ocean below that was in chaos and turbulence. The bell rang as it dangled with influence from the strong wind.

Tempest made her way over to another nearby lever which she also pulled, causing the bell to fall toward the raging sea. The chain rattled as it unraveled, until after a few seconds it went taut.

Below the surface, the bell rang, reverberating into the open ocean in an ominous tone.

Tempest waited with her hooves on a crank, as another rumble of thunder sounded in the heavy rain.

After a bit, she pushed against the crank, rotating it, causing the bell to rise out of the water slowly while giving more rings.

The bell locked in place back inside the ship, its metallic surface completely drenched.

She sauntered back up the steps above deck, a flash of lightning bringing a second of clarity in the blur. The chilling rain bathed her naked body, as she stood at the starboard. She watched the sea, attempting to find any unusual movement or shape.

The rain then began to lessen, turning into a steady downpour, then turning into a sprinkle, then stopping in an eerie silence.

Perplexed, Tempest looked around, noticing the dark clouds now surrounding the airship in a distant circumference with a few rumbles of thunder and the still ever present crashing sounds of waves. The howling winds ruffling her red mane, she looked to the sky, seeing the stars again.

The sound of waves grew more violent before there was what sounded like an extremely loud waterfall.

At the bow, looking down, she saw a gargantuan black form rising from the undulating dark sea.

The water cascaded from its head, revealing the beast's face in all its malevolent grandeur. It had two ridged horns that arched back before curving up toward the end. It had C shaped gills at its temples. It had an obsidian crustacean type armor over its serpent body, each piece ridged with hardly any air escaping from the gaps. It had six armor pieces along its neck where its mane would be that were like spines. Water seemed to consistently pour from the spines. It had three almost crab-like appendages, six total, on either side of its chest. Each leg varied in length, with the longest at top and shortest at the bottom.

Tempest's gaze traveled up it's moonlit sheened form to its eyes, which were a soulless black, with nothing to peer into, and nothing to see.

It stared at her, its lips curling as a hissing growl emanated from its muzzle.

Seeing the giant beast before her evoked a potent sliver of fear that threatened to become infected and paralyze her. But the shadow within relentlessly stomped the darkness, amplifying and allowing the fire within to cauterize it.

She turned her back to it and sauntered up the stairs. Standing at the helm, she slammed the lever forward, before rotating the wheel.

She left the wheel at a turned position before jumping over the railing, landing on the deck. She opened a box, grabbing a small silk package wrapped in rope holding black powder. Sprinting over to the starboard cannon, she threw it inside before following up with a cannonball. Her horn sparking, she lit the fuse.

The blast erupted and spewed smoke forward, causing a shockwave that sent the cannon back from recoil.

The monstrosity seemed to flinch slightly before giving a rumbling growl.

Another shot blasted forth, causing the beast to flinch again. Then another. Then another. Then another. Then another. It quickly gave an irritated screech at the airship.

Tempest examined the beast, looking for any wounds.

There was nothing.

The beast swam forward, creating tsunami waves as it cut through the sea, with malice in its muzzle.

Tempest sprinted back up the stairs, and grabbed the wheel at the helm, spinning it all the way to the left. The ship curved through the air away from the monster, but the beast closed the distance rapidly and lunged.

Tempest awaited the fatal blow, but instead, the sound of a giant splash filled her ears.

It dawned on Tempest how difficult her task truly was. She was going to have to be like an annoying fly, buzzing around it while it tried to devour her.

The titan rose back up from the black sea languidly.

She examined its features, looking for any weak point that could hurt it. She looked to the eyes, and though she couldn't visually see it in the clouded blackness, she could feel its wrath staring back. Eyes.

Tempest pulled a lever, causing the airship to rise. She spun the wheel to get a proper curvature to round the beast for another shot.

She jumped over the railing again and sprinted to the cannon, patiently waiting for the alignment while the creature seemed to be getting ready to lunge again. She ignited the fuse with her horn.

The round boomed, before the beast roared, recoiling back and shaking its head.

Tempest couldn't help but smile upon seeing the successful hit. But the smile quickly faded when she saw the beast lower its head, its lips curling as black and white energy emanated from the ridges of its horns.

The titan reared back, whipping its head to the sky, exposing its long pair of snake fangs with two incisors above and below as it bellowed. The roar continued to blare, its head shaking from the intensity with no hint of an end in sight.

Water from the sea began to rise, like heavy rain falling upward in slow motion.

Tempest watched in awe.

Black clouds formed, filling the gap of the surrounding storm, obscuring the starry night sky.

The beast's roar finally shifted and devolved into what sounded like a demonic whinny that echoed for hundreds of miles throughout existence, and with its end, the water fell.

The ambiance was now dark again as torrential rain once again bathed Tempest's body. She gazed at the blurry black mass, a flash of lightning briefly illuminating it.

The beast's nostrils flared, exhaling a cloud of steam, before it hissed, opening its maw wide.

A force suddenly pulled on the ship, causing Tempest to reel.

Adrenaline kicking in, Tempest galloped away up the slippery steps, stumbling on a few, before she arrived at the helm and turned the wheel and slammed the lever forward.

The airship accelerated up and away from the monster but at a crawl. The ship then reached a point of stagnation, then it slowly went backwards.

Tempest growled as she attempted to push the lever down further, but it didn't budge. It was like trying to escape a blackhole in vain.

Her mind raced as she attempted to find a solution. Her eyes ricocheted around the ship.

A flash of lightning illuminated the surroundings, including the gullet of the beast, which grew ever closer. The beast was close enough now so that its foul breath could be smelled and it reeked of death, decay, and sulphur.

With haste, she went to the stern, and looked over the edge and down at the dark chaotic seas below. Looking back, she saw certain death in the titan's maw.

Making her decision, she sprinted to the helm before she slapped the wheel, causing the ship to rotate toward the beast.

Tempest sprinted to the stern with everything she had, her vision even more of a blur as the rain hit her face. She leaped forward, clearing the taffrail.

The ship aligning, it zoomed forward into the beast's jaws. The beast whinnied as it attempted to reorient the odd shape in its mouth, clamping down over and over as it attempted to devour it.

Tempest was at a freefall, her horn sparking and her cyan eyes squinting as she could barely see the rapidly approaching black sea. She couldn't help but whimper and move her limbs as the blistering winds cut her face.

Her fate closing in, her mind flashed images. Images of her life as a filly. The innocence, the shattering, the scar, the abandoning, the vow, the loneliness, the anger, the invasion, the sacrifice. She thought of the new faces she'd met. But one face that was burned in her mind and lingered was one of a lavender Alicorn with shining violet eyes and a gentle smile.

A smile crept to her lips.

The irony of it all threatened to amplify it.

There was a moment, a thought that manifested in her mind like a luminous wisp that caused all others to cease.

Her brows furrowed as the magical electricity from her horn intensified. Pain shot through her entire body as she was encapsulated in an unstable electric aura, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut and cry out.

Her fall slowed until she stopped, hovering just above the ocean as she whimpered and hissed through her teeth.

But before she could attempt to bear the pain, a bolt of lightning arced from the sky, cracking like a whip as it struck Tempest, causing the electricity surrounding her to intensify as she cried out louder.

The indescribable agony coursed through every fiber of her being, fueling the magic, making it even more violent as she began to ascend. The feedback loop forced a scream to be expelled from her lungs, as tears were burned to steam from her eyes.

Bolts of magical cyan lightning arced into the rainy sky, and along the sea, crawling all the way to the beast making it shriek as it bypassed the obsidian armor.

The lightning spiraled and danced around Tempest's shaking body as she grit her teeth. Her mettle was being warped, bent, and oppressed, foreshadowing a riven to come. Despite the searing pain that threatened to snuff her consciousness, she refused to break...

With knitted brows, she opened her eyes to the beast before her, seeing it writhe. A bright cyan light formed at her horn, as the energy began to crescendo. She yelled with everything she had until the energy paused and gave a powerful burst.

A large cyan ball of light shot from her horn, sailing through the rain with a small trail and a mystical whistle.

It hit the sun skiff in the beast's jaws, causing a flash of light before a giant cyan explosion with an odd bassy resonance. The beast shrieked and whipped its head away, but the ship also combusted, creating shockwave, sending its head back again as fire, smoke, and wood, spewed from its jaws.

The electricity surrounding Tempest's body ceased, causing her to resume her fall. But as she fell, she vaguely felt a magical energy hone on her bare flank before disappearing.

A sound that was ghostly and powerful filled the stormy air.

Her back smashed into the sea, registering the final blow to her battered and exhausted body.

The blast of bubbles surrounding Tempest dissipated as the icy water seized her exposed form, stinging her burned body, grasping her in its deathly grip as she sank lower toward the abyss. Her limbs were heavy, but she lethargically extended a foreleg toward the starry surface above. Her eyes grew heavier, as her final breath created bubbles, and her vision began to fade. She swore she could see something approaching, but it was too dark and blurry to see.

Falling into gloam, her eyes eased shut, her horn fizzling until it ceased.